The present invention relates generally to apparatus and methods for using and making carbon nanotube contact structures.
Contact structures face many diverse design challenges. Contacts may be used to form permanent or temporary electrical connections to electronic devices. For example, a contact may be permanently attached to an electronic device for use as an input/output terminal. As another example, a contact may be temporarily attached to an electronic device, for example for testing of device during a manufacturing process. Very small contacts are desirable for application to fine pitch electronic devices.
Contact structures may be interfaced to various different materials, including for example, aluminum bond pads on an integrated circuit die, gold sockets or contacts (e.g., in a socket or connector), copper traces (e.g., on a circuit board). Depending on the type of material being electrically connected by the contact, different requirements may be presented. For example, in some cases it is desirable for the contact to be break through a non-conductive or poorly conductive metal oxide layer. In other cases, it is desirable for the contact to provide resiliency to help maintain a desired contact force in the presence of mechanical irregularities or thermal expansion induced dimensional changes.